A New Leaf
by Angelina Rose
Summary: Two warlocks are looking for something different. Tired of the same old battle and job, are they ready to become good?
1. Chapter 1

It was a hot day in the Underworld, of course it was always hot down there. Sebastin Adamson walked through the caverns, doing some serious thinking. He'd just

finished a kill on a witch he'd been tracking for several months but instead of feeling proud he felt guilty. She'd had a career and a full life with friends and family and now

all that was gone. 'What's wrong with me? I should be celebrating this, but all I can think of is the look on Anna's face when my fireball hit her!" he thought to himself as

he walked. He was supposed to meet his friend Sawyer at their favorite bar but he just didn't feel like toasting the death of a witch. When he walked into the bar he

saw Sawyer right away sitting on a barstool. Approaching him he slugged him lightly on the shoulder and sat next to him. Sawyer grinned, always happy to see his friend.

"How'd it go?" he asked. "It went off without a hitch but I'm just not happy." Seb said. Leaning closer he whispered, "It's getting worse, I don't even want to take any

witches' powers!" Seb shook his head, feeling really confused. "Why do I feel this way?" he asked. Sawyer sighed before confessing, "I feel the same way, bud!"

What's the matter with us, we used to be the most feared warlocks in the underworld and now we're sulking in a bar feeling guilty about doing what comes naturally

to us!" He lowered his voice, not wanting anyone to hear them.

Suddenly they heard the sound of a woman screaming and turned to see a pretty blond woman being slapped by a big burly demon. "Shut up,

blond woman being slapped by a big burly demon. "Shut up, no one can help you now!" the demon growled as he started to drag the woman away. Without thinking

Seb stood up and walked over, pulling the woman away from the demon, who snarled and said, "Don't get involved!" Without a second thought Seb turned to the woman

and asked, "Are you okay?" She sniffled and shook her head. "I want to go home, please! He said something about making me his slave, but I don't want to!" The

other demon powered up an energy ball and barked, "If you know what's good for you, you'll walk away from this and mind your own business!" Seb gently pushed

the woman behind him and powered up one of his fireballs, throwing it at the other demon. Blinking out, he reappeared right in front of Seb and slammed an athame into

his side. Twisting it a bit, he grinned and snarled, "The great Sebastin has gone soft! Wait until I tell the others!" Unseen, Sawyer came up behind him and pulled him

off his friend, stuffing a fireball in his mouth.

He watched him explode then raced to Seb's side as he collapsed. The woman caught him and put his head in her lap, starting to cry and say she was sorry. Sawyer

told her, "Hold onto me and him!" and he shimmered them to his lair. Removing the athame, he laid his hands over the wound and regenerated it. The woman watched

fascinated as the skin reknit itself and she asked, "Who are you guys?" Seb groaned and Sawyer ignored her, instead asking her help in moving him to the couch.

He and the woman took a hold of him and helped him lay down, then Sawyer went to get some wine. The woman smiled at Seb and said, "Thank you for saving me. It

was very kind of you!" Seb weakly smiled back and took her hand. "You're welcome!" he said, feeling very strange. He felt relieved that the woman was all right and

actually good, having helped someone. He asked, "What's your name?", looking into her blue eyes and feeling somewhat lost. She smiled and said, "Julie Huebner is my

name. What's yours?" "Sebastin Adamson, at your service." he replied. Sawyer came back at that moment and helped Seb sit up, giving him a glass of warlock wine.

"Just sip it, you lost some blood. You're bound to be a little weak." Seb obeyed, sipping the wine. "Thanks for saving my life, bud!" "Anytime, partner! Well, I

guess our reputation is ruined now"! Sawyer commented. Seb groaned and agreed. "I think you're right and unfortunetly enough demons saw what happened that it

should spread through the underworld very quickly!" Looking at Julie he said, "As soon as I feel better, I'll take you back to your home." Julie looked from Seb to

Sawyer and said, "I'm sorry I got you guys in trouble, but I'm glad you saved me. I was just in my apartment when this guy suddenly showed up and grabbed me, said

something about me making a good slave then the next thing I knew I was in the bar. Are you guys demons?" She was very curious and kept looking around the lair at

everything. Sawyer just got up and walked away, but Seb nodded and explained, "We're warlocks, a race of demons that's been around for centuries. We kill witches

to get their powers but lately I just don't have the same thrill I used to!" Seeing her face he stopped and apologized,

saying, "I'm sorry, you didn't need to hear that." Julie smiled and took his hand.

"Change is good but hard. I know, I've gone through some changes in my life too!" she said. Something about this red-haired warlock just made her heart beat faster

and she blushed, looking down at the floor. Seb slowly got up and turned to yell after Sawyer, "I'll be back soon!" then he helped Julie up and shimmered her back topside.

"Where do you live?" he asked her and she replied, "Iowa", giving him her home address. He took her hand and shimmered her again, this time ending up in the living room

of her apartment. He looked around and grinned. "So this is a human dwelling, it's very nice!" "Thanks, it's cozy. I'd like to live in a huge house someday, but I probably

can't afford it right now. Thank you again, and thank your friend for me." Julie replied, somehow not wanting Seb to leave. Seb just looked at her, wanting to

memorize her face. Finally he said, "If you get in trouble with another demon, just call for Seb or Sawyer and one of us will come." He shimmered away gazing into her

eyes and she finally broke away, wondering if she would ever see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days passed and Julie was working at her job. She was alone at the end

of the day, everyone else had gone home. Once she finished her report she

saved her work and shut down her computer, turning off her lights and grabbing

her purse. As she walked down the deserted hallway to the parking lot, she

thought she heard someone laughing and turned to look. "Who's there?" she

called but no one answered. Walking a bit faster, she squealed as a demon

smoked into view right in front of her. Brandishing his special claw, he snarled at

her, "Thought you could escape, did you?" Screaming, Julie turned and ran the

other way as fast as she could, but the demon used his super speed and

grabbed her arm. Julie screamed, "Seb!" and fought to get away, hitting the

demon on his arm.

Seb shimmered in and powered up a fireball. "Let her go!" he yelled, shooting it

off. It hit the demon in the chest and he screamed in pain as he erupted in flame,

turning into a pile of ash. Julie flung herself into his arms and buried her head

against his chest. Seb stroked her back and murmered, "Sssh! It's okay! You're

safe now!" "Why do they keep coming after me?" she asked, her voice muffled.

Seb thought for a minute then said, "It most likely has something to do with the

slave traders, they must need more slaves. See, demons buy human slaves

from slave traders to work for them. It's a horrible life but part of the demonic

existence! " Julie looked horrified at him. "You're joking right? Why humans?"

"It's probably because they don't have magic to defend themselves. It's one of

the reasons why I'm tired of being evil, at least humans have a choice! They can

act evil or good, sometimes all in the same day but we demons and warlocks

have to live in the underworld, make plans to take over the world and fight with

each other constantly!" Julie was frightened but as she listened to Seb she felt

sorry for him and wanted to help. "Would you like to come home with me? We

can talk more and maybe figure out a way to help each other."


	3. Chapter 3

Just a few minutes later, they were safely in Julie's apartment. Handing Seb a

glass of juice, she sat on the couch, a notebook in front of her. "It helps to write

down ideas as they come to me." she explained as Seb glanced at it then back

at her. "So, what should we do about these demons? I have a job and my family

and friends, I don't want them hurt too!" Seb thought for a minute then

suggested, "The witches I've hunted have normally either used their powers or

cast a spell to stop demon attacks. Maybe we could come up with something

together, a spell to protect you?" Julie nodded but cleared her throat. "The only

thing is, I still can't stay here by myself. What if the demons come back when

you're gone? "You're right! We need to find a safe spot for you until we figure

out how to stop them." Seb stopped. He thought he knew of the perfect place

for Julie to stay but he was afraid of what Sawyer would say.

Julie looked at Seb, wondering what he was thinking. He had a serious

expression on his face but she couldn't read his thoughts. Wondering if that was

a magical power, she nudged him. "Penny for your thoughts!" she said with a

smile and he finally replied. "Maybe you should stay with Sawyer and I for a

while? We can protect you better while you're with us and plus we have more

magical resources." Julie smiled wider at the thought of getting to spend some

time with Seb but asked, "What about my job and family? Are you sure Sawyer

would be okay with it?" "I hope he'll be okay with it, I honestly don't know! All we

can do is ask him. As far as your friends and family go, could you explain that

you're going on a vacation far away and you won't have access to email or a

phone?" Julie thought then nodded. "Yeah, I guess that would work. Will you

wait while I pack and call my parents and email my friends?" Seb grinned. "Of

course I'll wait!" Julie took off to her bedroom to pack and let her family and

friends know her cover story while Seb waited, looking through Julie's movie

collection. In a few minutes she came back, a brown suitcase in her hand. "I'm

ready to go!" she exclaimed, feeling excited. Seb took her hand and shimmered

her to his and Sawyer's lair, looking around. "I don't think he's here right now,

why don't you put your case in this room?" Pushing open the door, he showed

her a nice sized room with a single bed and dresser. Julie walked in and set her

suitcase down then smiled at Seb, making his heart jump. "Would you mind if I

took a bath?" she asked shyly and Seb swallowed hard at the image that jumped

in his mind. "Go right ahead, I'll start on dinner. Make yourself at home, I'll be

right out here if you need me." Leaving the room quickly, Seb went to see what

he could find to eat while Julie blushed and shut the door, undressing and

running warm water in the tub.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Five**

Seb went into the kitchen and started fixing steaks for dinner when Sawyer

shimmered in. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you, where'd

you go?" he asked. Seb looked up and replied, "Well, I had to go help Julie.

She got attacked again, another demon tried to grab her!" "Is she okay?"

Sawyer inquired, not really caring but still curious. "Yeah, in fact I decided

to help her out magically, so I brought her down here to stay for a while."

Seb said quietly, dreading Sawyer's reaction. "What! Why on earth would you

bring her down here?" Sawyer burst out, mad. "You're the bodyguard, you know

that you have to stay close to your client in case of attack! I'm sorry, I just really

like her and I want to solve this problem for her if I can." Seb exclaimed, starting

out mad but calming down. Julie came out at this moment, dressed in a light

blue shirt and denim shorts and smiled at the two guys. "That smells wonderful,

let me make a salad to go with that!" At Seb's nod, she hurried into the kitchen

and opened the fridge, pulling out a head of lettuce. The two warlocks watched

as she washed it then got out a bowl and started pulling off chunks. She put

them in the bowl then chopped up some tomatoes and carrots. "There, all done!"

she exclaimed, setting the bowl aside. "Thank you Julie! I think the steaks are

done, let's sit down and eat." Seb said, hoping they could get through the meal

without Sawyer starting a fight.

Julie sat down at the table and smiled at Seb, taking a bite of steak. She

moaned, "Oooh, this is so good!" Seb blushed but smiled really wide. "Thank

you Julie!" he beamed, glancing at Sawyer who frowned and shook his head, but

ate his food. After a quiet meal, Julie offered to do the dishes and Sawyer got up

and stomped off to his room to do some work. Looking after him Julie leaned

closer to Seb and whispered, "Is he okay?" Seb nodded and sighed. "Sawyer

just doesn't understand why I want to help you. He thinks we should be scaring

humans, not helping them." Julie bit her lip and asked, "Should I leave? I don't

want to come between friends like that." "No, just stay out of his way for right

now, he'll come around. We need to put our heads together and figure out how

to solve your problem, and Sawyer's a bodyguard so he knows a lot of demons.

He might be able to get some information for us about if there's a specific demon

after you or if you got on the possible slave list somehow. I'm also going to talk

to the slave traders tomorrow and see if they'll tell me anything." Julie smiled

and replied, "Thank you Seb for helping me! I love the room, it's cozy!"

Yawning, she finished the dishes and said, "I think I'm going to bed now." Seb

nodded and replied, "Sleep well okay? I'll let you know what I find out from the

traders." Julie walked into her room and shut the door, waving at Seb. Seb

couldn't help grinning as he went to his room and got ready for bed.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Seb was up and gone before Julie woke up. He shimmered out to the slave traders' lair and went inside. Mortimer looked up and smirked, stating, "I

knew you'd come see me sooner or later." Seb kept a serious face on and stated, "We need to talk about Julie. Is she on your list of potential slaves and if so, what

will it take to get her off the list?" Mortimer chuckled. "I can't believe you've gone soft for a mortal! I've done my research on her and she'll make a fine slave, once her

spirit is broken . Seb growled, "I'll ask you one more time, what will it take to get her off your list?" Mortimer looked serious and said, "If you buy her from me for one

thousand gold coins, I'll mark that she's yours and she'll be left alone. I can't remove her name from the list, you understand." Seb frowned but reached into his

pocket, pulling out a bag of gold. "You get your list out right now and write down that I own Julie for life, no one else can come after me to haggle for her,

or no gold." Mortimer cursed but nodded, shimmering the slave list to him. "I suppose that's the best I'll get, it's a shame. She's a lovely woman!" Quickly he wrote the

terms of sale then handed the pen to Seb. "Sign here and she's all yours!" Seb signed the document and Mortimer made him a copy. "Keep this in a safe place, if

if you lose it certain demons may consider Julie fair game again." Chuckling evilly as Seb scowled, he shimmered his copy to the vault, locking it inside. Seb took his

copy and shimmered back to his lair, taking the time to lock up the sales document, then looked up smiling as Julie came out. "Good morning! I have great news." he

announced as Julie came closer. "I went to see the slave trader and got him to announce you as unsaleable."

Julie smiled brightly. "That's wonderful! How on earth did you do it?"


End file.
